Utilization of
waste materials, water, and energy for production should be sought to establish
symbiotic systems. However, conjugation of two or more independent industrial
material cycles are rather difficult (if at all possible) because of several
barriers inherent in a private enterprise system, not unless technical and policy
interventions, is adopted by the government.

These barriers
have been identified as follows:

Technical hurdles to the suitability
of the material for an intended reuse. Waste and product materials sometimes
contain unwanted elements that would ruin them for reuse or make them difficult
or dangerous to handle.

High cost of recycling compared
with costs of new materials. There are costs involved in recycling which include
costs of, transport, collecting information, energy and technology. These
costs have to be compared with costs of new materials as well as cost of disposal
into the environment.

Information barriers. In the
transfer and use of resources deemed valuable within an industrial ecosystem
such as excess production inputs (raw materials),waste and scrap materials,
energy (excess steam, heat, gas, power) Water (waste water and other liquid
inputs) and common facilities (other facilities with operational capacities
that need to be maximized), information is needed as to who might use these
disposables and who might have them available. These information are often
not available especially in sectors without traditional recycling networks.

Organizational obstacles.
At the firm level, the present organization of a firm can be difficult to
change so that changing the whole concept of a product or adding new criteria
for environmental compatibility to the design process may not fit the ideas
on which the firm operates or its 'internal' incentive system.

Institutional
barriers. There is a need for government to affirm its commitment to industrial
symbiosis, and for its agencies (specifically DTI, BOI, PEZA, NEDA, DENR
and LGUs) to review existing status, plans, and policies to direct them
towards helping resolve the defined barriers. The current combination of
institutional mandate, available market-based incentives (both fiscal and
regulatory relief) and the capability & technical capacity are still
not conducive to support industrial symbiosis. Private firms would not immediately
embrace and apply the concepts of industrial symbiosis without the assurance
of incentives or at least support from the government to minimize or compensate
for the cost involved in the process. Further, the government through its
proper agencies would have to develop policies that will encourage industries
with high potentials for industrial symbiosis to locate in the same industrial
site or growth center.

General objective:

To evaluate how
the current policies support industrial ecology and propose policy recommendations
that would incorporate industrial ecology in the development and operation of
the country's industrial estates/ecozones and growth centers. Through further
policy formulation, implementing agencies must be able to clearly define its
role and actions to address specific barriers and encourage the implementation
of industrial ecology in general.

Specific objectives:

review and analyze existing
status/plans/policies and guidelines of the government on industrial growth
areas, specifically those on incentive and regulatory systems towards strengthening
of environmental management. A review of policies in neighboring countries
in Asia can be used as a basis of comparison to aid in policy analysis

define the environmental,
social and economic benefits which can be possibly be derived from incorporation
of industrial symbiosis and its advantages over other/existing ecozone management
strategies;

rationalize the possibility
of incorporating industrial symbiosis in each of the country’s ecozones or
growth centers by prescribing ways which material flows in each could be closed-looped

Recommend revisions/amendments
to the existing plans/policies/guidelines/legislation (government) on management
of ecozones and industries towards aligning them with industrial symbiosis
in general and that will encourage different industries with high potentials
for industrial symbiosis to locate in the same industrial site or growth center,
in particular.